Locked Right Rear Wheel in 4WD

Recently drove my 2010 Tacoma PU up 10-miles of 4X4 jeep trail in 4WD to a mountain pass (12,700') parked it by putting it "park", cranking the steering to one side (in case a bear broke in and decided to take it for a spin) and firmly set the parking brake. We were on a steep grade! Also note it was left in 4WD when shut off?

Upon my return from hiking local summit I jumped in and fired up the truck only to find out my right rear wheel was locked up somehow?? I tried to back up or go forward ...I only was dragging RR wheel felt like my parking brake was on?

Finally after going in and out of 4WD lo/hi back to 2WD both reverse/forward and resetting brake on/off it UNLOCK!! No way could it have been towed off that mountain pass via the jeep trail ...I was so relieved when the wheel sprang loose! ...and preformed flawless the 150-miles return home!

QUESTION What would cause this locked wheel?? Should it be looked at? I do not want a repeat situation miles from no where!!

Thanks!

 

When was the last time you used the parking brake?

My bet, it is not used very often. It was simply stuck engaged. You broke it free with your forward reverse action satisfaction.

 

Parking brakes, like AC and 4wd, are "use-it or lose-it" systems. If you don't use it regularly, the cabling will stick inside the jackets...in your case...the right one.
Just a thought.
Jeff

 

The rear brake pads seized to the drum. Causes usually by heat for example the brakes were very hot from the wheeling and then you set the parking brakes, the heated brake pad material Will actually bake itself to the drum and bam it’s stuck. Usually can unstick by rocking the truck back and forth and sometimes it will make a very loud bang when it lets loose you’ll think oh shit what just broke. Imo I’d pull the drums and inspect the shoes just to make sure they didn’t crack or anything.

 

Parking brake stuck.

 

Happens also in freezing temps too. Rear drum causes condensation from the cold, and when you park and pull the e-brake up it freezes and is stuck there. You might need to rock it back and forth. One time mine was stuck so bad that even locked in 4l wouldn't break it. I had to take a mallet and whack the e-brake line going into the drum break.

 

Saw this happen to a guy and his 3rd gen when we wheeled in the snow once. Had his parking brake set while we aired down our tires and BS'ed a bit...about 30 minutes later he went to hit the trail and his rear wheel wouldn't spin. Took some back and forth in 4lo to get it to break free. Worked fine after that.

 

Wife’s 2019 DCSB Sport MT has had that happen a couple of times . At first we thought it was frozen because it happened after I washed it and it got colder than expected; but it has also happened again when it was about +5 (40F). Always the right rear.
I haven’t checked (too cold today) but does the parking brake use the rear wheel brakes? (Our old FJs had a system where the parking brake grabbed the driveshaft)

Thinking it could be dirt/ice in a cable, but it seemed to come free after rapping the brake drum with a hammer and then driving forward and back a few times.

Other thought is it’s tied in to the anti-rollback feature not releasing, but no idea how to verify that.

 

Yes, and it's most likely a parking brake cable going bad. When they go bad, they bind up. If they go bad / bind up and you don't use the parking brake, it's not a problem. The first time you use the parking brake with a bad cable though, it locks up one - or both - rear drum brakes.

 

Pull the drums and check for any contamination on the shoes like gear oil or brake fluid. And while in there you can operate the parking brake lever and see if the cable is moving freely